Late spring's champion tree of intoxicating perfume, fragrant snowbell displays a fanfare of white, pendent blossoms in drooping clusters below its velvety foliage. A medium-sized, upright deciduous tree with elegant branches, it is native to eastern China, Korea and Japan. The bark is smooth and gray-brown and with age has fissures that reveal an orange skin. Young branch twigs are sienna colored and exfoliate.Leaves are very plump oval, lustrous dark green above and fuzzy underneath. They can become fairly large, and have inconsistent and random teeth toward their acute, central tips. In late spring and summer, the branch tips create a drooping flowerspike filled with a family of intensely fragrant, five-petaled white flowers. Flying pollinator insects flock to the tree, resulting in an open, scraggly "grape-cluster" of light golen tan, rounded fruits by late summer. The fall foliage color is not considered ornamentally significant, even though golden yellow, since a killing frost often browns the leaves before they would naturally start turning yellow.Plant fragrant snowbell in full sun or partial shade in a moist, acidy, well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter. In warmer climates it may be best placed in partial shade, and is considered a bit more heat and cold tolerant than the Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonicus). It makes a lovely specimen tree in the lawn or garden border, and is arguably its finest application. (info source: Learn2Grow.com)

1. Place the seeds in a shallow bowl and pour warm water over it. Allow the seed to soak 24 hours.
2. Moisten a handful of peat moss and wring it out until no excess water can be removed.
3. Insert the seed into the peat and place the bundle in a plastic sandwich bag. Set the bag in an area where the temperature remains between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and allow it to remain for 90 days. Check the peat moss periodically and if it begins drying, dribble water over it slowly until it is slightly moist.
4. Place the bagged seed in the refrigerator for 120 days. Keep the peat moss slightly moist during this period.
5. Fill a 1-gallon planting pot with a quality seed starting potting mix. Place the seed on the surface of the soil and cover it with a 1/4-inch layer of sand. Keep the seed moist at all times. Germination generally takes between 30 and 90 days. (info source: eHow.com)